The Walking Mountains
by AkumaKami64
Summary: At the Battle of Trost, it wasn't the Rogue Titan that appeared. No, it was something else, something far more ancient than a mere Titan. Now even the mighty Titans must gaze up at The Walking Mountains. Attack on Titan/Shadow of the Colossus Xover.
1. Chapter 1

The Walking Mountains

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Attack on Titan or Shadow of the Colossus

Summary: At the Battle of Trost, it wasn't the Rogue Titan that appeared. No, it was something else, something far more ancient than a mere Titan. Now even the mighty Titans must gaze up at The Walking Mountains. Attack on Titan/Shadow of the Colossus

Regular speak

_Thoughts and Emotions talking to person outside mind_

**Demonic or Animalistic Speak**

_**Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts**_

If any human still lived within the area between Wall Rose and Wall Maria, they would bear witness to a strange sight. Many strange and ethereal tendrils, at least a dozen or more, flew through the air at an alarming rate, soaring over Wall Maria and racing to the second wall at speeds no beast on that Earth could match. Each was long, at least a quarter mile each, with black edges with a small grey sliver like down the middle. They shot about erratically, in and around each other, acting more like flying snakes than anything else. But they all stayed in a group and headed forward in the same direction. If the Titans lurking about noticed them, they paid them no mind.

It did not take them long to reach and cross Wall Rose and into the Trost District. If they realized the destruction and carnage partaking below in the town as the ravenous Titans devoured every human they could find, they showed no indication of it. The tendrils shot through the air and down to their target; a grey-bearded Titan wandering through Trost for another meal to be had. The tendril shot into the belly of the giant, yet not leaving a mark. The force of it sent the Titan stumbling backwards and falling on its backside, roaring in pain...

_**"Thy wish to live, young one?"**_

Eren's eyes shot open as an ominous, otherworldly voice echoed in his ears. It was then he realized he wasn't on shingles of a roof or in the belly of a titan. He also realized his mobility gear was missing. Instead, he found himself on some kind of white stone with the sun glaring down on him. He slowly got to his knees before standing, not remembering at the moment that two of his limbs should be missing. He winced as the brightness of his surroundings blinded him for a moment...than his eyes widened in shock, his voice caught in his throat as he struggled to find words.

The first thought was that he was outside the walls. Because there was no way a place like this existed anywhere within any of the walls. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, standing on some kind of man-made platform. Hundreds of feet below him was a large mass of sand with small and large rock formations littering it. To his right, he saw what he could only assume were mountains, the large rock formations that dwarfed even the Titans.

And straight ahead was a narrow bridge, and it looked to him like it stood as tall as half of one of the great walls. The bridge stretched on for what seemed like a mile before it reached a large building, a grand temple...

Jean glared at nothing in particular as he, Marco, and Sasha all raced through Trost. The plan was...not a complete failure yet, in Jean's current opinion. It wasn't going well as squads seemed to be falling like flies, but his squad was able to pick off a few of the Titans. Still, that didn't amount to much compared to the growing horde swarming the town. The more that got in, the more unlikely it would be that any of them would see the next day.

"Hey, Jean, I think I see something up ahead!" Marco called, pointing forward and a bit to the right of their forward path.

"Is it a Titan?" Jean asked warily, unable to make out what it was. Whatever it was, it was just a bit smaller than the buildings surrounding them, making it bob in and out of their vision as they soared through the air via mobility gear.

"No, it's a...," Marco started only to blink in confusion.

"Am I the only one seeing the out-of-place, grassy hill in the middle of the town?" Sasha asked with wide eyes.

"Wha...no, now you aren't," Jean said with a deadpan expression as he got a good look at it, "Come on guys. Let's go check it out. I normally wouldn't think it's a Titan, but I don't see how it can't be given this situation," He ordered with a sigh...

"Where am I?" Eren asked in disbelief, "Wasn't I...eaten? Is this...heaven?" He asked, not sure what to make of this. He squinted his eyes as he saw a figure on the bridge, heading into the temple. It looked like a human on a horse.

Not sure what else to do, Eren began to run across the long bridge. However, despite his training, he soon realized that no matter how fast he ran, it would take him quite a long time to reach the temple. So, with that in mind, he occasionally slowed and marveled at the sight of what he assumed was the outside world. As he got closer, he began to realize just how big the temple was. He might be wrong, but the very peak could be as tall as the walls mankind had been so safe behind until a few years ago.

It felt like it must have taken him nearly half an hour just to cross the bridge. While he originally wished he had his mobility gear on him, he soon realized that unless he jumped off the edge and used the bridge and its support beams to grapple onto, the equipment would have been useless to him anyway. When he reached the temple, he blinked as he noticed two things.

One was that his path was blocked by a stone door that seemed to be more of a wall than a door. The second was a path to the side, leading upwards,_ 'Did he head up there?' _Eren wondered to himself. Just as he was about to go up it, the stone door in front of him lowered to reveal a passage. He looked back across the bridge and sighed,_ 'No point in turning back now. Might as well as check it out,' _He mentally decided as he headed into the dark hallway...

"What the hell is this?" Jean asked in frustrated confusion as they looked down at the anomaly. It really did look like a mass of stone and dirt, covered in grass. But it was right in the middle of the streets

"You think the Colossal Titan kicked in some dirt when kicked the wall?" Sasha asked, scratching her head in confusion.

"Maybe...Marco, you stay up here and keep a look out for any Titans. I and the others will take a closer look at this...whatever it is," Jean instructed...

"Wow," Eren said in amazement as he looked down the spiral...it was more of a smooth and gradual ramp than a staircase. Either way, it was a path downwards that went around the circular walls of the large room he had entered. Peeking over the edge, he saw a pool of water in the center of it, _'This has got to be at least ten meters high,'_ He thought in wonder. He blinked as he heard the sounds of horse hooves clicking against stone. He sighed as he ran down, hoping to catch up with whoever he was following.

_'Who the hell makes a ramp like this instead of stairs?! Or not put in a rail or something?!'_ Eren wondered to himself in annoyance as he stayed a bit close to the wall, having almost slipped and fell several times. He was, to say the least, greatly annoyed with this confusing situation.

Finally reaching the bottom, he walked to the pool and splashed his face with water and sighed, _'What am I even doing here?'_ He asked himself as he felt light wash over his face. Looking up to the door way and peering through, his eyes widened in awe...

"Okay, there is no way this was flung by the Colossal Titan. The road would be tore up and everything, or be one big crater!" Jean noted, seeing that the 'hill' was on top of the stone road with no visible damage around it.

"This looks more like someone piled on dirt and stones here, bit by bit, until they got this and grass grew over it. But why would anyone do something like this in the middle of town?" Sasha asked, scratching her head in confusion, "And was this even here before today?"

"I don't see how we would have missed seeing this from up on the wall, but this grass couldn't have grown that fast...," Jean said with a sigh, "In any case, while it IS strange, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Titans, so we best head off for now and get back to the fighting," He ordered.

"Yeah, you're right," Sasha agreed, turning to use her gear when something caught her eye, "Hey, Jean, take a look at this," She called over as she jumped down to the lower part of the hill...

Eren could not believe what he saw. It was...the most majestic and imposing work of architecture he had ever laid his eyes upon. There was a wide and grand hall, easily fifty feet long. Along the walls were eight statues on each side, every one of them different and stranger than the last. And at the end of the hall was...there was no other way to put it, it was an altar of some kind, set before large windows that granted entry for the almost blinding light. And as Eren walked forward, he noticed the most incredible piece of the room. On the ceiling, just in front of the alter, was a large sky light that let in rays that truly were blinding, making it impossible to see up.

"What is this place...?" Eren asked in disbelief as he stopped at the last statues before the altar.

_**"Thy wish to live, young one?"**_ The voice called again, echoing in many tongues and almost divinely imperial.

"Who's there!? Show yourself!" Eren demanded, looking around in all directions. He went wide eyed as the lights from the sky light shined brighter.

_**"We art Dormin and We hath been expecting thee,"**_ Dormin answered, almost sounding...amused.

"We?" Eren asked, confused.

_**"Thine fate rests upon the edge of a sword. Thou made an oath to rid the world of those foul beings the mortals hath named Titans,"**_ Dormin reminded.

"W-what? How could you know that?" Eren asked with wide eyes. Sure, it was no secret he hated the titans, but he had never met this...whatever it was he was talking to.

_**"We know everything about thou, Eren Jaeger,"**_ Dormin answered ominously, _**"If you will honor that oath, We wilt grant thou aid to assist in slaying them..."**_

"What is it?" Sasha asked, poking a strangely carved and large rock, a large hole in it, "It...almost looks like a stone mask or something."

"Hell if I know," Jean answered with a shrug, "Maybe somebody was working on a statue or something when the Titans attacked," Jean suggested.

"...Jean, is it just me or does that look like a spine to you?" Sasha asked with a dreadful blank face, pointing back up the 'hill' where rocks formed what looked like spine bones.

"...Those were NOT there a few seconds ago," Jean said nervously.

"Jean...if that's a spine, what are we standing on then...?" Sasha asked worriedly.

"What? Why would you help me?" Eren asked, blinking and slowly turning to his left as a statue started glowing brightly.

_**"Because, Thy art one of Us,"**_ Dormin answered cryptically, _**"But heed this. Should thou accept this, the price you will pay may be heavy indeed,"**_ They warned.

Eren just stared at the statue. For some reason, all of his doubts and suspicions melted away for a moment as he approached the statue. Three simple words echoed in his mind, "It doesn't matter."

Dormin chuckled mirthfully,_** "Very well then. Go child, for Valus the Minotaur has leant you his power," **_They declared as Eren placed his hand on the statue before being enveloped in light...

Sasha and Jean froze as the hole they were both standing near glowed blue with a black dot in the middle, resembling an eye all too eerily , "No way...," Jean whispered in disbelief, steading himself as it started to move, "Sasha, move, now!" Jean ordered as he used his mobility gear to get up to the roof Marco was on.

"Holy crap!" Sasha yelled, obviously freaked out, as she landed beside Jean, "What is that thing!?" She called out.

"Great, first a Colossal Titan, than an Armored Titan, now a Stone Titan?! What are they...doing...evolving...?" Jean asked in frustration, slowly fading into shock as he turned to look at what was happening.

A giant stone hand, covered in orange-brown fur, reached forward and pushed the mass upwards. The body started to shake, violently, sending loose chunks of dirt and stone flinging everywhere, making the three soldiers shield their faces. When they looked again, they saw the true form of the creature. It had two legs with giant metal hooves instead of feet. Most of the legs were stone, except for the fur on the bottom half of the legs.

From the waist up, it was mostly covered in fur, but the arms were completely bare. Its stone face seemed almost shaped like a bear's with two broken horns on its head. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about it was that it was covered in armor. Not like the Armored Titan's, which was armor-skin. This literally looked like it was wearing giant-sized armor made of stone, on it's arms and legs mostly. Along its back were three strange structures that looked almost like platforms.

"Jean, I don't think that's a titan...," Marco whispered in horror as the...thing got to its knees and moved to stand, loose stones falling from the beast and smashing on the street below.

"Oh god...That thing must be over twenty meters tall!" Sasha realized as it finally stood at its full height, the ground shaking with every little step the massive creature took.

Jean blinked as he realized...this thing was wider than the street it was standing on..., "Okay you two, enough gawking, let's get out of here before that thing notices us, or just outright crushes us!" Jean ordered loudly as he prepared to launch his gear to start hauling his rear far from here to a safer distance...

Only to realize that the vibrations of this creature had masked the footsteps of a fifteen-meter Titan, now standing right behind them with a disturbing grin, "Oh god," Marco whispered in horror as they all aimed their gear to go around the creature.

_'Dammit, I guess there really was no hope for us after all...,'_ Jean thought as looked into the eyes of the man-eating giant. Than his eyes widened as he felt a gust of wind hit his back, "What?!" Jean yelled as a giant hand barreled over their heads and impacted with the Titan, grasping the top of its head fully, and even some of the torso. The three humans looked up in disbelief, seeing that the colossal rock-beast had reached over and grabbed the Titan. And in its shadow, they couldn't help noticing the blue eyes were now an angry red as the stone giant crushed the Titan's head.

Wasting no time, the trio used their mobility gear to zip several buildings away in case the Titan's body could regenerate. Once they were away, they turned to look at the behemoth and saw it scraping or crushing down on the Titan's now headless neck. With a grunt, it dropped the lifeless corpse and began to wander off, its red eyes scanning for more targets.

"...Am I dreaming?" Marco asked in shock, feeling like he was going to faint.

"Did...did that thing just help us?" Sasha asked in awe as she watched the beast walk through the town. Its arms often scraped off the walls of buildings, but it paid the sensation no mind. It must have been little more than a tickle to it, feeling the futile resistance of the brick and wood against the tops of his hands and arms.

"Don't be stupid," Jean said numbly, "That thing...didn't give a damn about us," He whispered before blinking as a loud roar echoed throughout the air. He looked up and watched as the walking mass of earth picked up a four-meter Titan with its right hand...and crushed it into a pulp. Rearing back its long and mighty arm, it flung the bloody remains at a distant seven-meter Titan, knocking it over and out of sight, possibly dead.

"Umm, Jean? I know I'm not the sharpest of the tools, but I think killing the Titans is more or less the same as helping us," Sasha pointed out with an awkward smile, still a bit freaked.

"I'm not even sure if that thing notices us," Marco commented, "We must almost be like ants to it."

Jean clicked his teeth as he turned away, "Either way, let's leave this thing be. Whether or not it cares about us, or if it's going to be a threat to us later, I think it's best to leave it alone and let it thin the ranks for us," He ordered as he fired up his gear and took off. The other two hesitated for only a second before speeding off.

"Think we should warn the others about this?" Marco asked uncertainly.

"Warn them? I don't think anyone in town will be able to miss it," Jean pointed out, still feeling tiny tremors from that giant's movements.

Sasha glanced back over her shoulder as she looked at the creature, the Stone Monster, and couldn't help being in awe by it. There was something majestic, something grand about it. She knew Jean was probably right about this being, that it probably didn't care about them. But Sasha wasn't the smart one of the group, so she allowed herself to smile and privately believe that this new kind of giant was on humanity's side for a change.

End of Chapter

Tada! There it is folks, the first ever Attack on Titan/Shadow of the Colossus Xover!(thatI know of) Look on and in awe you mortal fools as the Colossi smash through the Titan horde! BWAHAHAHA!

(coughs) Okay, enough of that. Yes, as you can see, Eren can turn into a Colossus instead of a Titan. And yes, for tose of you that have played the game but not studied the out-of-game information about it, the Colossi all have names given by the game makers, Team Ico. The first is Valus the Mintotaur,(Personally,I thought his face looked like a bear) but without his giant club for reasons that will be explained later.

Now, onto some stats. The AoT universe reads everything in meters instead of feet. So, for those like me that are use to feet, here are the rounded conversions.

4 Meter Titan= 13 feet

7 Meter Titan= 23 feet

15 Meter Titan= 49 feet

Valus, the first of the Colossi, is 70-76 feet tall. Yes, that's right, the first Colossus is still bigger than all regular titans. And with his broad shoulders, I think he'd be just a bit too big to fit down the streets without breaking anything besides the ground. For the record, Valus apparently weighs 40 ton...which seems light to me in retrospect as Kuromori(the eightth one that crawls on walls) is suppose to weigh 10 Tons despite being a geico to Valus.

Any way, yes, Dormin is obviously involved in all this and now there is a Colossus tearing apart Titans. Weither or not Eren is in complete control or just in a feral rampage, or not mentally aware at all, is up to you to figure out until when/if he turns back. Also, to make this clear, this takes place Mikasa found out Eren was eaten. When Eren was a titan, he probably went unnoticed by people before saving Mikasa, but a Colossus can NOT be missed.

So, hoped you enjoyed all of this! No QTP this time. Might leave it out this fic. I'm doing that a bit more often now. Well, Read and Review!


	2. Chapter 2

The Walking Mountains

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Attack on Titan or Shadow of the Colossus

**Sirius25**\- Thanks!

**Tatopatato**\- Writing other Masterpieces and repiecing my fics after my laptop was destroyed.

**Random Rockets**\- Wish Granted! Glad to make you grin!

**Wondering Muse**\- Yeah, to be honest, I did put in line breaks- FF's doc system deleted things like that when you saved it. Didn't notice until after I post the story that the lines were gone.

**Debdub**\- No need to beg!

**CrimsonLuna**\- Heheh, glad you enjoyed it and I promise that there is more to come!

**thegamer95**\- Nah, on the back of the game case, it said that in this game, mountains aren't scaled- they're slain.

**Guest**\- Good to know!

**AsuravartintheCreatorDestroyer**\- Hehe, yes, I think Eren's Colossi forms will give many people heartattacks.

**thefluffyone93**\- Yes, SotC is a beautiful story on its own. And while it might not need fanfics, they certainly don't hurt. As for the rest? Hehe, you misunderstood something in the first chapter. Don't worry, it'll all be explained.

**Man McDudeman**\- Honestly, never thought of Dormin as evil, and you do raise great points in his defense.

**lmc9389**\- Thanks

**code R.R**\- Valus is happy to entertain everyone with Titan butchering.

**eternal nothingness**\- Wait no more!

**blackout2010**\- Very likely.

**Guest**\- Wait and see!

**NathanHale2**\- Wish Granted!

**alf the explorer**\- Thanks

**mastermind**\- The last one is Malus, and yes, they would be.

**Bazerkerking**\- You're not the only one. XP

**coduss**\- Well, that deends on if you thought he was an evil bastard to begin with.

**edboy4926**\- Well, I think you have a good guess after this.

Regular speak

_Thoughts and Emotions talking to person outside mind_

**Demonic or Animalistic Speak**

_**Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts**_

**AN: Sorry for the long wait-My old laptop was destroyed via soda over the holidays, got a new one that I had to set everything up on, and...I had trouble with describing the movements with the 3DM gear- it ends up sounding a lot like Spiderman's web-slinging at times.**

In their lives, the soldiers at Trost had never bared witness to such a sight as Valus the Minotaur, a beast of earth that stood tall and proud over even their greatest enemy, the Titans. To watch such a creature tear into the giant man-eaters was both terrifying in its display of sheer power but also awe inspiring to see so many of the seemingly invincible foes laid low by one lone warrior.

"What the hell are we supposed to do here?" Ymir asked quietly as she, Krista, and Connie watched in amazement from afar on a rooftop as Valus literally crushed a fifteen-meter titan's head between its hands, walking over the corpse with its long, slow steps.

"I don't know about you guys, but I say we let that big S.O.B. do his thing!" Connie said with a slightly insane grin, "He's doing a lot better job than we are, that's for sure!" He added with a laugh.

"He doesn't seem to be going after anything besides Titans...," Krista commented in wonder, blinking as another team arrived on the rooftops, "Jean, Sasha, Marco! You guys are alright!" She called with her trademarked heavenly smile that had unknowingly warmed and stirred the hearts of almost any that saw it.

"Yeah, thanks to the big guy over there!" Sasha said with a grin, thumbing her thumb at Valus's direction.

"Wait, you guys know what that is?!" Connie asked, loud and curious.

"Pipe down," Jean said with a sigh, "We don't know anything. We just...found it before it woke up," He answered in an unsure voice.

"Woke up?" Ymir asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We found a weird hill of dirt and grass that seemed to appear out of nowhere," Marco elaborated, "These two went down to take a look at it..."

"It was...weird to say the least," Jean continued, "We found what we later realized was its face and realized that things were forming on the 'hill' when we weren't looking. The thing's eye lit up right underneath us and next thing we know-"

"The whole thing started moving!" Sasha interrupted, buzzing with excitement, "It stood up, shook itself like a dog, and WHAM! Instant Titan Killer! We thought we were about to be titan chow when BOOM! Its fist comes out and crushes the sucker's head!" She finished, panting from lack of breath. She blinked and blushed sheepishly at the awkward looks she got.

"I knew you were a strange one, Sasha," Connie said with a smirk, "But I didn't think you'd swing for something like that!" He joked with a laugh.

"It's not like that, you idiot!" Sasha yelled, glaring at the bald soldier.

"So, that thing isn't hostile then?" Ymir asked to the saner members of the team.

"We're a bit hesitant to say it's not hostile to us, but it's clearly only interested in the Titans," Marco answered.

"Personally, I don't think it really even notices us," Jean added in with a shrug.

"Either way, I think it's in our best interest to not let that thing die," Ymir suggested, "Having something that can kill titans this easily..."

"Despite my skepticism, I can agree with that," Jean said with a shaky smirk, "Besides, that thing doesn't have much of a mouth as far as I can tell. And I'd rather be crushed quickly than eaten alive," He added in grim humor.

"Uhh, guys?" Connie called, a bit nervously, "I think we might have a problem!" He alerted as they all turned to see the giant creature trying to strangle a fifteen meter Titan and a seven meter Titan, one in each hand, while crushing them into the side of a building. Behind him, two four meter Titans ran and jumped on his furred back, biting into the shoulders of the Minotaur, making him let out a loud grunt of pain as he stumbled backwards, losing his grip on the other two titans.

"Are we...going to help it?" Krista asked unsurely as they watched the four-on-one brawl unfold.

The now free fifteen and seven meter Titans climbed over the arms and up the front of the Colossus, biting into his neck before he could regain the advantage. With a roar of rage, Valus leaned forward and began to shake back and forth, getting faster and more violent with every movement. The four meter Titans on his back, now flapping around like ragdolls, were flung loose into the air, and away from him.

Valus grunted in annoyance as his left arm shoved the fifteen meter Titan off his neck, almost ripping the teeth out of the giant humanoid as it went tumbling backwards. The Minotaur Colossus reached up with its right arm and grabbed the smaller Titan by the torso, tearing it away as well but keeping a grip on it. As the fifteen meter Titan charged again, the rock beast grabbed the head of the charging man-eater with its large left palm and stopped it dead in its tracks. With rage flaring in his currently red eye, Valus crushed the smaller Titan's head into the mouth of the larger one, both clawing at him to try and get free as he slowly crushed their heads and brains into a combined mangled mess before letting the two bodies fall to the floor, proceeding to smash his metal-hooved feet onto them, further crushing the semi-immortal giants for assurance of their demise.

"...Yeah, I don't think he needs any help," Connie said with a strained, nervous smile, the others silently agreeing.

"Never thought I'd see Titans flying," Jean said with a grim smile as he looked towards where the two aforementioned Titans landed, grimacing as he saw that they landed on top of roofs, "Just hope those things don't start running on rooftops before they fall...off." Jean said, pausing as he saw something, "Who the fuck is that idiot?!" He yelled, getting everyone's attention. Just across two streets from where one of the Titans had landed was a blonde figure just sitting on a roof.

"Wait...is that Armin?!" Connie said in surprise as the Titan started to get up on the roof.

"What's he doing there alone?" Krista asked in surprise.

"No time for that! Connie, Ymir, Krista! You three go get him; we'll keep the Titan busy!" Jean ordered as he, Marco, and Sasha took off on their Omni-Directional Gear.

"Well, look on the bright side!" Connie said with a grin as they took off as well.

"What's that?" Krista asked curiously.

"The closer we are to that thing, the less likely we have to fight any of the other Titans," Connie reasoned, chuckling at his technically correct logic.

"Okay, guys," Jean called as they closed in on the Titan, which was now on all fours, trying to stand on top of the building, the roof collapsing a bit under the weight. However, it was clearly looking at Armin now, with its ever wide grin, "Let's see if we can't take out this thing's ankles and make it fall off the roof!" He ordered, the other two nodding in agreement.

"Yo, Armin!" Connie called as he landed on the roof, running towards the blonde soldier, kneeling on the roof with a blank look in his eyes, "What the hell is a matter with you!? Snap out of it!" He yelled, shaking the boy by the shoulders.

"Connie, what's wrong with him?!" Krista asked in worry and confusion.

"I think he's in shock or something!" Connie answered, "Armin, snap out of it before I snap you!" He warned.

Meanwhile, the other trio had zipped down to a house a bit away from the Titan before making a mid-air turn on a chimney to line themselves up with the ankles, "Sasha, you take left, Marco, right. If either of you miss, I'll cover for you!" Jean ordered, getting nods as the two sped passed him a bit. He smirked gratefully when Sasha hit her mark, _'Great, now I or Marco just have to get the right one and this bastard should fall right off. Luckily, this thing doesn't seem smart enough to jump straight ahead...'_

"Connie, we need to get a move on, right now!" Ymir yelled, watching the Titan as it stared at them from two blocks over.

"GRRRRR! Dammit!" Connie growled as he slammed his forehead against Armin's, making Krista gasp in surprise.

"Ow! Huh? What?" Armin asked, rubbing his head as his senses started to return...as did his memories of recent events, "Ahhhh! You're worthless! Why can't you just die!? Damn you!" He yelled, his scream blood curdling, tears streaming down his eyes as he gripped his head.

"What the fuck?!" Connie asked in shock, looking at the young man in surprise at the sudden outburst.

"What the-" Jean started in surprise, everyone hearing the scream in the immediate area, before quickly turning back to the situation at ha-, "Dammit!" He cursed under his voice as he saw Marco miss, probably thrown off by the sudden scream, _'Okay, Jean, time to put that training to some actual use,'_ He thought, steeling himself as he went in for the strike...

The Titan let out a roar as it went tumbling down in the streets below, face first into the pavement, "Nice one Jean!" Sasha congratulated.

"We'll celebrate after it's dead!" Jean retorted, zipping down to take out a chunk of its neck. Normally this would be more risk than the cautious and pessimistic Jean would be willing to undergo, but between the adrenaline and seeing the small Titan stunned with its weak point wide open, his mind just went into overdrive with the intent of killing the threat before it got back up.

With a grunt, Jean cut away the chink in the armor, the Titan lying lifeless as steam started to come off its body. Jean stood there, panting, before he blinked as he realized what just happened, "I just...killed one," He commented in shock, looking on in stunned amazement at his first kill. He had trained to kill Titans, but he never planned to really put that to use. Partially because of his aim to get in the interior and avoid them at all costs, partially because he never thought that training would truly make a difference, that the Titans were just too powerful to overcome. While that belief wasn't gone...it was a bit shaken. Maybe, just maybe the Titans weren't as overwhelming a force as he had always feared.

"Wow...never thought I'd see Jean go for the kill on his own like that," Sasha said with a grin, Marco nodding in slightly surprised agreement.

"Hey Jean! You okay down there?!" Marco called.

"Yeah! I'm coming on up," Jean answered, taking one more look at the corpse of the four meter titan before turning to rejoin his friends on the roof, "Connie and the girls get Armin?" He asked, glancing over at the group of four.

"Yeah, but he freaked out for a moment, hence the scream," Marco explained.

"Jean, if Armin is alone..." Sasha commented pointedly.

"Yeah..." Jean answered with a sigh, "That suicidal idiot..."

"Armin, you okay?" Krista asked in concern, Armin having turned quiet after the boom of the Titan falling off the building.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that...," Armin whispered, his voice quivering, even as Jean arrived with Sasha and Marco.

"You guys alright?" Sasha asked as she approached them.

"I think so," Connie answered, "Hey, Armin? What were you doing here by yourself? Where's your-" He started to ask, only for Jean to hit him in the back of the head, "What the hell man!?" Connie yelled in outrage.

"Don't be an idiot," Jean said with a sigh, "With how much he clung to Eren, why else do you think they'd be separated in a situation like this?" He pointed out morbidly.

"What the hell are you talking about? If they're gone, why the hell is Armin still alive?" Connie asked in outrage.

"I'm guessing it's the sticky stuff on him," Jean answered tiredly, "There was a theory that Titans ignore humans covered in their saliva, but no one really had the chance or desire to test that," Jean explained, blanching slightly.

"...Okay, that's disgusting," Connie mumbled with wide eyes, realized he probably had Titan spit on him from touching Armin, "Hey, Armin, you going to be okay?" Connie asked lightly.

"...Yeah...sorry for being a burden," Armin muttered with his head down, trying to keep himself together, "I'll just...rendezvous with the rear guard." He informed as he stood up.

"Yo-you sure man?" Connie asked, a bit worried as the boy just brushed by him.

"Armin, it's not your fault." Jean assured neutrally, "Don't try taking up the title of Suicidal Idiot..."

"Right..." Armin muttered, probably not even hearing the words as he headed to the edge of the roof, almost looking like he would jump off and fall rather than use his maneuver gear.

"Think he'll be okay?" Krista asked in concern, getting no response from the others.

'_I hope so,'_ Jean thought with a sigh, _'For Mikasa's sake if no one else's.'_

"Umm, guys?" Sasha piped up, "Does Armin know about the giant, helpful, Titan-slaughtering rock monster? Or was he in shock before that...?" She asked in light worry.

"...Ahh, fuck," Connie cursed, summing up their thoughts.

"Well, look on the bright side," Ymir commented with a smirk, "Unless he gets squashed on accident, the worse it can do is give him a heart attack."

"Ymir, your jokes are horrible," Jean retorted, Sasha and Marco nodding while Connie face palmed and Krista sighed at Ymir's behavior.

**Meanwhile**

"This...this world is _Hell_," Armin whispered to himself in some odd mix of resignation and realization as he sped through the air, hardly even paying attention to where he was going, "Eren...How can I look Mikasa in the eye after that...," He whispered as he struggled to keep his tears in check.

"Franz!" A voice called frantically, making him snap his eyes wide and upward as he used his gear to stream up and over a building, into the next street, and saw two soldiers trying to get away from a ten meter Abnormal. It was thinner than most Titans, its arms dangling at its side, and its spine bent at odd angles, allowing it to snap its mouth in a direction, very quickly. Currently, it was trying to get at Franz, a soldier a little older than Armin, who had one of his wire hooks stuck in a building. Hannah, another soldier and Franz's girlfriend, was heading back to try and get to Franz, or kill the Titan, before it could eat him.

"Hannah, get out of here!" Franz yelled, using his gas to try and zoom away from the mouth, but he was unable to get away from the Titan altogether due to his caught line, which also made getting at the neck very difficult.

'What do I do!? I can't just sit here and watch someone else die!' Armin thought in shock and fear, his mind racing on what to do. If he cut Franz's line, it would just leave him with defective gear and probably get the man killed, but if he tried to get it unstuck, Franz would probably be killed before Armin could even get to it, 'Dammit! Am I really thi-?!' Armin stopped in mid-thought as he saw...the top of a stone tower, falling right onto the Titan?! "What...?" He asked himself in disbelief as he turned around and saw it.

Valus the Minotaur, his eyes blaring red, was standing down the street, hunched over slightly from the throw he had just made. He soon loomed over the buildings once more, standing over even a fifteen meter Titan, and began his march down the street.

"Franz!" Hannah called as she landed down where Franz had landed, the rubble from the thrown building pinning his wire down to the ground.

"I'm fine! Just a bit banged up," Franz assured as he cut the wire off, knowing they couldn't move the stuff holding down his wire, even as the Titan tried to pull itself out

"Franz! Hannah! We got to get out of here!" Armin yelled as he propelled down to them.

"Armin?" They both asked in surprise.

"The Titan is about to get up and we have a twenty meter...something heading this way!" Armin warned.

"Right, Franz, your other line and gear still good?" Hannah asked quickly, getting a nod. While operating with only one line wasn't advisable, it wasn't impossible.

With that, the trio zipped up to the rooftops, out of reach of the ten meter variant, "Armin, did you say a twe-" Hannah started, only to go wide eyed, in a mixture of fear and awe, as she turned and saw the massive form of Valus coming towards them, "That thing...," She murmured.

"You know what that is?" Armin asked in confusion.

"No, it just appeared a little while ago. Thankfully, it seems to just be killing Titans," Franz informed.

"Killing...Titans?" Armin asked in surprise, blinking as the Titan below them burst from the rubble.

Rather than looking at them in hopes of feasting on them, it stared straight at Valus and roared before charging at the rock beast over twice its size. Armin watched in utter fascination as Valus kept marching towards the titan, never halting. And when the gap closed...he grabbed it with his right arm, by one of its flopping, unused arms. With the slightest effort, even as the titan tried to bite into the top of the stone-armored hand, Valus lifted the Titan up by the arm and slammed it into the ground. With a squeeze, a twist, and a pull, the arm was torn away from the giant. As the Titan roared in pain, Valus lifted up his left hoof of a foot and started to repeatedly slam it on the head and torso of the man eater, turning it into a bloody smear on the pavement.

The trio watch in amazement as it happened before them, each pummeling of the foot seemingly in slow motion until it finally stopped. And as Valus raised his gaze, he seem to stare directly at the three soldiers, his red eyes turning to a more peaceful blue...and it almost looked like he might have nodded to them before looking down the road and continuing his path of destruction.

"Did...that just happen?" Hannah asked numbly, getting a nod from Franz.

_'It looked at us and nodded...it knows how to kill titans...It threw part of a building...Is this thing intelligent, like the Colossal Titan?' _Armin wondered before blinking as he realized Valus was getting very close, "Guys, I think we should get out of here, now," Armin informed, the couple coming out of their shock before nodding in agreement as they headed to join with the rear guard, _'But...even if it is intelligent, why is it killing Titans?'_ Armin wondered before shaking his head, _'Either way, it doesn't matter why. All that matters is that...whatever that thing is, it is an invaluable asset to humanity,'_ Armin determined before his eyes went wide, _'Wait...if its intelligent...could we get it to plug up the hole? It's big enough that it should be able to lift the boulder...,'_ Armin wondered, the analytical part of his brain working into overtime.

And as they flew away, the eyes of Valus watched them go. Perhaps if his eyes were capable of it, they would have expressed relief or worry as the blond boy left. As it was, they went back to red as he turned to the street on his left, slamming a jumping four meter titan right into a building. Perhaps if his face wasn't made of stone, he might have snorted as well. As it is, all he did was let out a grunting roar as he swung his mighty arm. Even with the Titan's massive regeneration, rock can still crush bones into dust.

**End of Chapter**

Finally! Second Chapter! Again, sorry for the weight. Live and technical issues came up a lot. Plus, as I said, it took me a while to figure out how to make the 3DM gear work in writing.

Any way, onto this, to point out a few things: 1. I imagine that Jean was in minor shock the first time he killed a titan himself, if he ever did kill one in canon off screen.

2\. I know Armin just saw Eren die, but...I kind of think he was always coming up with ideas, even if he didn't always have the confidence to voice them.

3\. While Sasha, and Connie to some extent, are already loving Valus, others are more cautious. As for why? Well, my beta once said that the reason they distrusted and feared Eren so much in canon was because while he was onthier side, he was still turning into a titan, the things that had been eaten them for over a century. They've never seen something like Valus, so are less prejudiced to see him as a monster. They might be afraid of it, but who wouldn't be a bit scared of a seventy foot rock monster that appeared from nowhere/

4\. Yes, I saved Franz. People will die in this fic, but Eren/Valus is making a difference in how many and who. Besides, this fic is meant to make AoT a little less grim. Speakingo f Franz, we've seen characters use one line manuvers before so losing one line isn't a death sentence, just makes it a bit tricky.

5\. Yes, Valus/Eren threw a roof on a titan. Why, I don't know, it came to mind.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm also trying to keep everyone reasonably in character while making them seem a bit more hopeful about Valus's pressence. I think next time would be the part where Mikasa finds out about Eren being dead, quote unquote, and possibly her first encounter with Valus.

PS Feel free to suggest Abnormal Titan concepts. I make those up on the spot.

PSS Yes, Irealized this followed canon a lot. The big changes come around the part with them retaking the HQ for the gas.


End file.
